In my arms
by Yamiyugikun
Summary: Tales of Vesperia. Part 2 up. In the Blade Drifts of Zophier, Karol finds courage in protecting his friends. Yuri x Karol oyako, family fic, brotherly love, non yaoi. One-shot. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** In my arms

**Fandom:** Tales of Vesperia

**Pairing:** Yuri x Karol, oyako, parent child/brotherly love bond, fluff,

**Rating:** PG13 for the violence of the Don's death

**Summary**: When the Don takes his own life to atone for Belius's death and Yuri has to help the Don in his suicide Karol takes it harshly. This fic is an exploration of what appears to be a remnant of the Japanese culture of bushido in that part of the game. I was surprised Namco stuck this in. Usually you find seppuku or ritual suicide in samurai period dramas like the Shinsengumi, or possibly anime. You also see how Yuri comes out like a father to Karol to comfort him. Its more of an oyako (parent/child) story, non yaoi.

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**Yuri's POV**

Stars twinkled like a blanket of diamonds strewn across the sky. In that celestial sea of night above, Brave Vesperia sparkled radiantly, the brightest star glowing gold. The lunar disc of the moon shinning nearby, a great silver sphere suspended in the cosmos, watched the world by Brave Vesperia's side, raining down silver light through the streets of Dahngrest, falling on the faces of all who beheld Don Whitehorse, amidst a flurry of banners blazoning the Union's logo. Some were clad in armor, others hunting gear, accoutered by various weapons depending on the guild they belonged to. Heavy shadows darkened each face with grief. The lips of people drawn tight with their breath bated, hearts beat so fast you'd swear they'd really burst.

From the blood racing in each person, fear coursed through like a veritable stream of terror, anticipating what the Don would say or do. A few visages were white, almost pale, while the majority held their breath fearing for their beloved guild leader. The Don had been their strength, a paragon of virtue who adhered to guild rules till death did he part this night. In this closed world of the guild and its laws, one could compare it to the ancient culture of samurai, or knights of medieval Europe, bound by codes and oaths none would dare break. To uphold the rules meant honor, your sense of trust and worth as perceived by others who lived their lives according to those rules.

Rules the Imperial Knights once swore to uphold flooded through my mind, like practicing chivalry through acts of kindness and compassion, helping those less fortunate than yourself. Seeing that embodied in the Don's face, naked in the moonlight, with all his resolve manifested in his tightly drawn lips, and eyes gleaming with pride, made me despise the Empire even more. Everything the Don lived by, the Knights should have been, leaving me no choice but to bloody my hands in Cumore and Ragou's deaths. If I became the criminal by killing those in power, who trampled those beneath them, then so be it by staining my hands.

The cobblestone streets of Dahngrest felt cold under my leather boots, creeping up in chills through my legs that made me wonder, did even the very earth sense the tragedy looming over? The echoes out in the distance outside town, above the murmurs of people told me they too partook in the sadness shared tonight. Faces of women and children, members of the guild families pressed to each window, lighted inside like furnaces betrayed further feeling. Even Repede in the town square hung his head low cast down and forlorn, whimpering softly under his whines.

"It'll be okay, boy," I whispered, stroking his head. "This will all be over soon. I promise."

He nodded, rubbing his muzzle to my leg. "That's a good boy," I replied, with a smile, pushing my way through the crush of the crowd over to where the Don bravely waited.

Don Whitehorse held his gigantic form up with all his might, to keep from slumping over. A large barrel-chested man with a thick white beard, and red paint streaked down his face, he forced himself to wear a pained smile, positioned on his knees, with a knife gripped in one hand. He wore that expression because of Karol running over. His baggy pants brushed against his legs, quivering with fear. He nearly lost his balance stopping dead in his tracks, in front of the seated Don.

"Hang in there, kid," came the Don's gruff, but affectionate voice, rumbling deep in his throat. "Yer a boss now, right?" His sad smile widened and eyes swam with tears, but he held his compose, gazing warmly at the boy.

"But there's nothing I can do on my own," the young Hunter replied meekly, hanging his head in shame, eyelevel with the Don on his knees.

"So then ask fer help," Whitehorse replied kindly, trying to lift Karol's spirits. "That's what friend're for, right?" He cocked his head at me, turning Karol's visage towards me, at least for a second.

I caught fear flickering in his eyes. "Don!" cried Karol, shaking his head.

"Take good care of them, and they'll be there whenever ya need 'em," the Don voiced, below the din of the crowd, and the breeze rustling the banners. All blew softly, so serenity it contrasted oddly against the impending loss. The Don's eyes burned with pride, his body held up with strength, he hardly moved an inch when Karol might nearly cry.

Any minute now the tender hearted boy would unleash a flood of tears, wetting the Don's shirt, or my own. _Please, Karol, not in front of the Don and whole Union gathered_, I prayed silently within. _I know he means much to you, like a father, the role model you've lived to follow. But be strong. He feels this is the only way to atone for Belius's death because of the trouble his grandson Harry caused back at Nordopolica. If he doesn't an all out war will start between the guilds._

Indeed, in a culture marked by honor, where one's reputation meant everything, this was the only way, at least in the Don's eyes.

"What the hell's he doing?" hissed Rita under her breath, swallowed in the crowd, somewhere besides Estelle. "I don't get the guilds and their damn rules. There has to be another way."

A low growl escaped Repede's throat, warning Rita not to leave her place. Tears threatened to spill from Estelle's eyes, grasping Rita hard. Raven broke out of the crush to stand guard in the square in case anyone would try and stop the Don.

"I'm coming with you," cried Harry, the Don's grandson, responsible for this mess, rushing out at his grandfather, wanting to die alongside him.

"Like hell you are!" hissed Raven, knocking him out with a punch. This was the first time I saw Raven truly mad. He turned sullenly towards the Don, sighing, "Well, old man, it's been fun." I saw the sadness written in his mien, thinking, _you really were the closest thing I had to a father, with the guild being my family. I'll really miss ya, dear friend._ _I guess after I'm dead too, we'll meet in hell. Till then, try not to be too lonely._

"Raven, you better nail Yeager for me." The Don tried to answer Raven's pain in a lower, gruffer voice.

"Hah hah, that's a heavy load for somebody like me," Raven replied, his sadness finally breaking out in a pained smile crossing his lips. The breeze caressed his black scruffy hair tied back, ruffling the hem of his happi coat in this tranquil night.

"Yer the only one I can ask," the Don sighed heavily, closing his eyes as if in death.

The soldiers standing guard behind him tensed, their hands around the poles of their banners wavering, as the swords sheathed at their sides shook. They knew full well what it meant grieving inwardly in silence.

"Whitehorse," Raven uttered his name, when two of the Don's followers neared, thanking their leader for everything Harry had did.

The Don replied regretfully, lowering his head, "The boy has made a mess of things. He may be my idiot grandson, but he's also a full member of the Union." Parental affection brimmed in his voice, growing harsher when saying, "And it falls upon any leader to take responsibility for the mistakes of their people. So say the laws," he added with regret, eying Harry mournfully on the ground. _I love you, son. I can't let you live on in shame as the Union's future leader. So let me set you free through this, Harry. _

"Take me then. Let my head atone for Belius," whispered the fearless Don, gazing firmly at his two followers.

"Don," gasped Estelle, watching a good fifteen feet away, where the crowd was held back, with Rita still at her side. I stood in front of them booth.

"Idiot," hissed Rita, glaring. "Those guilds, they're all filled with nut cases. Why the hell should he have to die?" Her eyes desperately searched me.

I wished I could answer her cry, explaining to her the culture that bound this world, where honor means everything by following its laws. If the Don didn't atone for Belius's loss, a most high revered leader, though an Endelexia, the Don's family would be shamed forever, as would the Union. Shame was absolutely the worst thing that existed, as in the samurai's culture, so how else could it be erased by through death? This ritual suicide also adopted by members of the guild was called seppuku.

It involved the person committing to take a knife, as the one the Don held, plunging it into his abdomen making a right to left cut. A second in command called the kaishakunin, holds the duty of beheading the person doing seppuku, once they plunge the knife into their stomach, to avoid agony making the death as painless as possible. To be appointed as a kaishakunin was considered a position of honor, reserved for one's lord or friend. He was usually a skilled swordsman as the maneuver had to be done with precision. The Don knowing this gazed at his followers, hoping one might come forward to be honored.

"This is crazy," sighed Rita, wanting to cry.

"No!" cried Karol, held back firmly by Raven. "You can't, Don!"

Estelle held Rita back with all the strength she could muster. Only I stood alone out of everyone in our group, still as a statue. Perhaps because I had grown up in the lower quarters of Zaphia, seeing people die on the streets at times, I didn't cry outwardly like the others. When I killed Ragou on those same streets for having fed innocent people to his monsters, I felt no remorse spilling his blood. When Cumore sank back in the sands, buried to death, I felt no remorse. My heart hardened at their loss of life for the evil they committed. But the Don was an honorable man and it panged me deep inside.

"So, who's gonna be my second?" the Don asked, searching the heartbroken hearts of his people.

In the crowd of his followers looming over, their faces became a silent sea of pain, with heads hung down in regret, rustled only by the breeze through their hair, the banners wavering around. The stars twinkled silently as if watching. I stepped forward having no choice. Perhaps I did, but I made myself believe I didn't. I did train with dreams of becoming a knight, possessing the skill needed to perform the role of kaishakunin the Don needed.

"…It would be my honor," I called out in a low deep voice, lilting up over the Don's shoulder, and everyone's who heard. I wore a warrior's firm resolve, steady in my gait towards him as I approached, silent and slow.

Karol gasped, gazing at me with his large dewy eyes, so full of innocence and tenderness, it hurt me deep inside. He stared as if I were another person: a hardened, stoic man unlike the Yuri he grew to know, loved like an older brother.

"Yuri, don't," he whimpered, crying out, his voice caught back in his little trembling throat. Even Raven felt teary holding him back.

I remembered our conversation back at the inn in Heliord. _I don't get it how adults always act so tough, _he said out in the hallway, when Estelle passed out after healing Rita, who risked to life to save the town's blastia from exploding. _Look at me, how weak I am. Its why I got kicked out of the Hunting Blades, why I'll never grow up to be strong, like you, Yuri. _

_Not all adults are like that, I try to listen to what others say,_ I replied to him gently.

_Really? Yuri, I was thinking we could form a guild_, he cried back, smiling.

_With you as our leader, its sure to be successful, Captain Karol_, I answered, delighted to see him uplifted.

In the present, pain writhed in the depths of Karol's eyes, betrayal he felt at the words I told him back in Heliord. He shook his head, trembling madly with each step I took towards the Don, becoming a moment drawn out forever, never seeming to end in his agonized mind.

I unsheathed my sword in a flash of silver, gleaming in the moonlight, drawn by my side, poised by the Don. He joked grimly I took a job nobody wanted. The moonlight seemed to illuminate us alone in a single beam of lighter brighter than the rest, washing the very spot we stood at in silver, almost forming a halo around the Don's head itself. The blade I raised reflected moonlight with stunning beauty, mirroring back my reflection as well. My black eyes deep as night, gazed back wondering if what I was about to do was truly right.

My answer came in the Don's bittersweet reply, "Yuri, I was lookin' forward to watchin' ya go places. I'll make sure to save you a spot in hell."

To which I said, forcing a smile, standing tall, "I don't think they'd let me into the hell you're going to."

"Hah, I won't forget that attitude, boy," he said kindly, smiling sadly.

"And I won't forget your resolve, Don Whitehorse." Those were the last words I said to him, before he told his people to be strong, when he positioned the knife he gripped over his stomach, preparing to plunge it into this gut, making a right to left cut as the samurai did in his seppuku. Steeling myself against the moment his head flew, lopped off, leaving a jet of blood spurting up where his neck had been, as often happens in beheadings, I raised my blade above his head, feeling my entire body tense. I swallowed the pain deep inside, imagining I held no feeling. My heart could go numb when I had to be a warrior, assisting a friend in death.

Karol passed out crying the Don's name a final time, as if loosing the very father he loved before his very eyes, the moment the Don plunged his knife in disemboweling himself, and my sword flew down in a streak of silver taking the brave man's head. A bloody mist flooded up where his head had been, soaking the air with death. A gasped cry rippled through the crowd like a wave, with several of the followers passing out along Karol. The group of armed followers the Don addressed had several rushing forward, covering his head and body in a blanket, while others ushered the crowd away. Somewhere in that frenzy, Estelle and Rita were lost. I cleaned my blade of the poor man's blood, sheathing my cold cruel blade.

I turned away unable to cry. Or rather the tears wanted to come but couldn't. I become a warrior locked in grief, an adult Karol accused of not feeling his very feelings. I guessed Raven took Karol to one of the inn's to recover. Finding myself in a daze, I drifted back to the Union's Headquarters in the upper section of town, to find some peace while the commotion died down, wandering the moonlit streets alone, the gray cobblestone reflecting the pallid, if not eerie light. I found myself no longer under a quiet, starry sky, but into some nightmare I made with my very hands.

An hour or so passed, seeming like an eternity drawn out to forever, when I heard noises outside the Don's office. "Everyone here seems to have calmed down," Estelle remarked, in lowered tones, staggering in. "Karol's been taking the Don's passing pretty hard too," she added in a tear stricken voice.

"If only someone could look for that runt, cheer him up," Rita sighed, following Estelle into the office where I waited. "But I'm hardly the one to do it." She recalled how she treated Karol, hitting him at times when angered early in our adventure. "It should be you, Yuri, or the old man." By 'old man' she referred to Raven.

"It seems he's pretty busy with his work cut out for him as a member of Altosk," I murmured when they entered.

We discussed responsibility and choices that the Don was willing to stake his life on his beliefs, practicing what he preached. I told Estelle and Rita I had to figure out those things myself, and I was taking a walk. But it was really to search for poor Karol. The moment my blade came down, I saw the agony writhing in his eyes, written so clearly across his face, it broke my very heart. I was partly responsible for his pain, for I could never ignore a person in dire need.

I found him alone in the lower section of town, near the main square where the Don's ritual suicide happened, the entire scene entirely cleaned up, the once swelling crowd now dispersed like waves pulled back in the sea, in this case dark alleys and buildings all alight. There was no way I'd find a boy crouched over, cloaked in black shadows, huddled under the eaves of the inn Acturius, away from its main entrance. But somehow, the twinkling light of Vesperia high above in the night sky guided me, in a golden beam of light to the very spot Karol sat. I heard the whimpering of a boy hidden in the dark, taking refuge beneath a brightly lit window, casting long shadows right outside objects in its path, that seemed to consume Karol's very soul. As I approached softly, in steps that made no sound, I chased away those night phantoms dancing in Karol's mind. My very presence became the light itself, if Brave Vesperia could be but a mortal person.

"Yuri," he cried in a tear-choked voice, glancing up. He blinked hard fighting back his tears. His large brown eyes swam with them, threatening to spill down his cheeks. "I… there wasn't anything I could do…" his quivering voice died out.

A rising note of desperation gave way when he broke out, "The Don…and all the rest of you, you'd all made up your minds and did what you could."

I remained silent, my heart going out to him, taking a single step closer, my form casting a long, menacing shadow that fell over Karok, by the nearby window's light. Feeling my gaze fall on him, he glanced up, our eyes locking and sniffling, "Nobody in this town is gonna listen to anything I got to say, so I was thinking I should try to talk to Palistrale instead. But they might be done talking, and end up attacking, anyway. When I thought of that, I was too scared to go alone, then I ended up not going at all."

At this point, his genuine feelings of pain bottled up inside the last hours of this day finally erupted in his words, "I'm not good for anything." Sadness marred his sweet, youthful visage, making me want to cry in his stead.

But I wasn't him, I was me. I continued standing there like the stoic warrior I was, at least outwardly, in a smooth voice saying, "What about Judy? Weren't you going to look for her?"

Karol backed up against the wall, pulled his knees up to his chest, tucked in his head to hide it, whimpering, "I can't…" trembling as he spoke. "I can't go you with anymore, Yuri, I'm just not cut out to be the boss of a guild." His voice fell with quivering tones, ready to burst into tears. "I never was. I couldn't even be a member of the Hunting Blades…Because Yuri, I'm so weak!" he cried, his gaze shooting up.

I strode forward, raising him up in my arms. He threw himself against my chest, wetting my exposed skin, in my vest partly open. His hot wet tears coursed down my chest in bitter rivulets, wetting my clothes from the inside, in warm wet stains colored black, wetting even my belt.

"I'm not tough like you! There's no way I can be like the Don," he sobbed, shaking furiously in my chest.

I understood now Karol completely fell apart, collapsed from the inside out, abandoning those dreams his sweet mind held, so full of love and hope. How could a grown man like me, seemingly accustomed to the harsh ways of the world, ready to kill villains that plagued society, according to my definition of justice comfort him? Estelle would have truly been the best one instead of me, as Belius praised her compassionate nature before she died yesterday in Nordopolica's coliseum. Estelle is a tender, pure hearted princess who can't be corrupted, the opposite of a fallen night as myself. I would raise my blade even to Flynn if I had to, if he became like Cumore and Ragou in his ways. I prayed it wouldn't happen, but I see myself falling in the dark, further from the brother Karol grew to love.

Just who am I? Yuri Lorwell? What is responsibility? What is justice? What is the compassion Belius spoke of in Estelle, I seem to lack in expressing? I wanted to tell Karol straight out that our guild Brave Vesperia would go on without him that I would search for Judy at Mt. Temza. So I tried to say the most comforting thing I could.

"Are you just going to walk away from a dream, our guild like that?" I asked, almost hissing when I grabbed him by the shoulders.

I handled him too roughly, when Karol's tearstained face jerked over, with frustration sown across. "You can always do everything you want, Yuri!" he snapped, trembling with rage, burning in his voice, a high-pitched sobbing squeal. "You'd never understand how I feel!"

At this point, I realized words were futile, that'd I'd only hurt him no matter what I said. So I did what I could with my body, wrapping my arms around his tiny childish frame, hugging him to my chest. In the course of my life thus far, I realized this was the closest I came to being a father, an older brother for one in desperate need. The man who meant the world to Karol, representing everything Karol aspired to be, just died before his eyes, killed by my very blade. Karol was traumatized at having seen that loved one's death and it was likely the pain would continue, haunting him in dreams, perhaps his waking hours.

Someone in me reached out with a kiss I planted on Karol's forehead, pushing back the matted hair that fell over his face. I couldn't recall having shown an act of deep affection in a long time, not having time to feel my feelings, questioning myself, hurrying from one place to another, since the tragedy of Belius's death at Nordopolica's coliseum.

"Y…Yuri?" he sniffled, glancing up, trembling more when his forehead brushed my chin, and my warm breath heated his skin. "I'm sorry, I…"

"Shh, it's okay," I whispered, rocking him in my arms.

"I had wanted to be useful to the Don, by being the best guild, so he would notice me," he sighed, shaking his head in my arms, buried again in my chest, against my bare skin on my beating heart, between my muscles hidden beneath.

His sweet round face, so full of longing and love fit perfectly on my chest, as if it were made to support him in this hour, for him alone, my dear little Karol.

"But he can't notice me, because he's no longer here," Karol's stifled voice came through against my tender body.

"But I'm here, I notice you," I said gently, cradling the back of his head.

I honestly wanted to say _Karol! Did you forget what the Don told you, his resolve? Even if you won't go on, Brave Vesperia will. It's more than just you now. As a member, I'm going to find Judy at Mt. Temza. As a member her life may be in danger, and it's my duty to save her. Now, are you going, or not? _

That'd be too cruel, twisting a poor boy's already pain racked heart, so I said nothing more, letting my body speak though my beating heart, the warmth of my body around his, my feelings enveloping him in my thoughts, my chest rising and falling he clung to, my breath gently falling on his face. Those were the things I let speak instead saying, _I love you. It'll be okay, little brother. _

"You…notice me, even now, Yuri?" Karol sniffled, nuzzling his face in my chest.

I nodded, holding him close, shutting my eyes, surrendering to the feelings I felt within with all my heart and soul. He felt in my touch, my heartbeat, and my breath, the things I wanted to say.

"Yeah, you have the whole time, encouraging me back in Quoi woods, even starting this guild, everything." He smiled wiping his face. "I was thinking only of myself, I…"

"It's part of growing up, being an adult, Karol," I explained, resting my hands on his narrow, little shoulders. "Thinking about others besides yourself. When we're kids, it's hard for us to understand anything else. The world changes a lot, including our bodies, not only physically but also emotionally. Growing up is complicated. It takes time. Do you understand?" I asked gently, searching him.

He nodded, so many questions written across his very face. "Yes…" he broke the silence at last. "Thank you, Yuri."

"We should head back to the inn. Estelle, Rita, Repede and the old man are waiting, probably asleep," I murmured, feeling weariness tire my limbs. "If there's ever a question you have, don't be afraid to ask."

"Al…alright," he agreed, glancing out in the distance towards the Arcturious across the street, its cozy little sign waving out over the entrance, beckoning travelers in.

Its warm, brightly lit interiors awaited, perhaps a fire burning inside a hearth, with someone asleep in the lobby, having a child or pet curled up on their lap. In a room of our own, our companions would be waiting, fast asleep, slumbering in dreams. I wanted to enter that realm, heading towards the inn. My tired feet dragged my heavy body over the cobblestone street, worn smooth from years of people's shoe bottoms brushing over, polishing it a dark, glossy tone, catching the moon's pale light. Under the shower of that celestial disc's light, Karol and I headed back, with my arm drawn around him, holding him close. My strong steady touch stilled him in that hour of need. Sometimes when you can't find the right words, a simple touch reaches inside a friend, drawing out their pain.

When I snuck in the Acturius cloaked in the dark, rolling lazily onto the nearest bed in our room, Karol fell on right with me. My muscled shoulder pillowed his face, nodding off on its side. His stomach lying on me, his tender childish form, young and innocent from the adult world's ways, melted into me as he drifted off to sleep. Hearing my heartbeat in sleep, mine became his. Feeling my breath rise and fall, became his. My body heat flowing out became his. We became like a single being, a parent and child, or siblings as one in the senses of touch and sound that bound us.

As I thought about all that I'd done, a subtle smile spread over his face in sleep, seeming to chase away the phantoms of the dark that haunted himself outside. Through my touch, my affection, he escaped those terrible phantoms, and the memory of the gallant Don's death. Perhaps through me, the Don lived on, as a shoulder for Karol to lean on in his hour of need.

"Goodnight, Karol," I whispered, stroking his face as I pulled the covers over to warm us.

"Onii-chan, night," he murmured back, waking momentarily in sleep.

Together, we slumbered off to the wonderful world of dreams, where we might journey upon awakening, when morning came, the sun flooding our room in gold.

* * *

_Owari_

**Author's notes:**

There were many things that struck me as I was playing through the game and writing this, I didn't have space to add in the beginning. First of all, I want to thank BandaiNamco for FINALLY doing a Tales game in English with fully voiced skits, that really give life to the voice actors, especially Yuri. Troy Baker did an amazing job voicing him, as did Karol's voice actor. Yuri is simply the manliest, sexiest lead to star in a Tales game to date, lol, pardon the fangirl rant. Tales games have amazing emotion and character development, which is my main inspiration for fics. I hope Vesperia lives up to Abyss in terms of character growth, which I loved in Luke.

It was really hard writing Yuri's character at first, especially from a first person, as him and Luke are so different. Yuri's clothes and hair are dark, like his role as sort of an antihero. Luke's hair is red, showing his emotional nature, his clothes are flashy. Another challenge stems from that Vesperia is so new, there's not a section for it on this site. Whereas in older fandoms like Abyss, people have written fics, giving you a place to start. I hope to see more Vesperia fics on this site.

I love getting reviews, hearing from people. So please review. Thank you XD


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Thank you everyone for your reviews. When I got to this scene in the game, it tied in so much with the Don's death, in terms of Karol's growth I had to continue it. With this, the fic is now complete. Enjoy!

**Summary:** When Karol faces off with the boss in the Blade Drifts of Zophier, an unexpected angel comes to his aid, so he can prove to Yuri how much he's truly grown and miracles happen as we grow into stronger people.

**Chapter 2**

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**Karol's POV**

I thought a lot about the Don's words, _take good care of your friends and they'll be there when you need them._ I wasn't there for Estelle after our visit to the Krityan City of Myorzo, when Estelle gazed upon that mural in the Elder's house, showing how the Children of the Full Moon that unleashed a terrible power Adephagoes, bringing about a cataclysm in ancient times. Estelle's eyes watered with tears as she stormed out abducted by Raven and brought to Alexei. Since then the Brave Vesperia's spirit hasn't been the same without our dear Estelle.

Yuri was there for me when the Don took his own life and my very world collapsed after Belius's death upon returning to Dahgrenst. Even when I wanted to give up when Estelle was taken, Yuri never gave up. I saw passion burning in his eyes when he leapt from our ship carried by Ba'ul, launching himself into midair, after we stopped the Heracules, flying right towards Zaphias. Estelle was imprisoned in a column of light with Alexei at her side. Yuri risked his very life, his hand thrust out at her, as he cried, "Estelle!"

And her emerald eyes wept, her tears sparkling with sorrow, as she wailed back, "Yuri, kill me! Before I hurt you!"

Yuri loved Estelle as his own dear sister, just as he grew to love me like a little brother. I still couldn't understand how he placed so much confidence in me to be the leader of Brave Vesperia, after I showed cowardice in the face of the Don's death. I've never known anyone with a heart as kind as his, overflowing with compassion for those weaker than himself, seeing the very best in them when no one else can. That was the kind of special person Yuri was, letting me cry in his arms on the night the brave Don died. That same fire spurred forth in him to jump out and save Estelle, even if at the last moment she awakened unleashing a terrible power.

We almost died, launched out the sky landing near Nor Harbor. From all the aer roiling through the sky, "a storm boilin' over' as Raven said, I wondered if the apocalypse spoken of in ancient times was really here. Ba'ul flew off to recover from his injuries, leaving us with no choice but to walk. My entire body hurt like a thousand needles piercing me, stabbing every cell, I groaned lying helplessly on the ground.

"Yuri…it hurts," I moaned, my frame racked in pain.

"Karol, it'll be okay, I promise," Yuri whispered, lifting me in his arms. "We'll get you to a doctor in Nor Harbor, and Raven too."

Once at the seaside town, we found the entire populace in panic after that horrific beam the Hercules shot out, parting the sea's very waters. Imagine a searing beam of light a mile wide, hotter than the sun, crackling with fire. That's how horrific it was causing a landslide by Ehmead Hill. But in this darkest hour, Yuri burned with an inner strength, looking me straight in the eye, saying, "We're going north past Ehmead Hill, through the Blade Drifts of Zopheir, we must rescue Estelle!"

With Ehmead Hill blockaded, we had no choice but to traverse this deadly drift. At this time of year the ocean froze just boarding the land north, creating a temporary ice bridge. But not even fisherman dared enter in search of plentiful catches. Explorers who trekked through that ice shelf by sled huskies pulled, claimed frozen blades from ages past stuck out of the ice, like stakes thrust up out of the ground as if victims had been impaled on those swords in distant ages past. If this were true, the ghosts of those warriors from long ago haunted this land, preying on all who dared enter. We, Brave Vesperia, couldn't let some lore hold us back. If we were that shinning star like Vesperia in the night sky, then courage must come to the fore, in the same resolve Don Whitehorse bore, that I must show as the leader of our guild.

The moment we entered the Blade Drifts of Zopheir, I really wondered if the phantoms of warriors past, whispered 'death' on the wind whipping past. A chill cold as death shivered through my aching, tired limbs. Snow howling past created a white blurry wall, fading into a gray curtain not far ahead in the distance. Every time we found a thin bridge of ice on which to pass over, an aquatic beast of sorts, slithering through the water destroyed our crossing every time. It was certainly no Entelexia as Judith sensed no intelligence. But by its cunning actions, controlling the route we took made me wonder if it forced us in some trap.

"That thing certainly seems ta have takin' a liking ta ya," Raven chuckled, grinning at Yuri in spite of the arctic chill. "Must be that manly musk."

"Whatever, it keeps chasing me. But I prefer my dates less aggressive," Yuri replied rather dryly, huddling closer to Judith, Repede and I to keep warm in our trek. "First its Zagi back on the Hercules, now this. They both have a kind of love I don't need."

"You're quite popular, Yuri," Judith added charmingly. "But for the sake of your own mental health, I suggest you sever such codependent ties, especially with that Zagi."

"Dammit, what the hell do you think I've been trying?" Yuri sighed, stopping. "Add to that Tweedle A and B, and you gotta wonder, why do I attract such fans?"

"Its pretty clear Zagi's in love with you, the way he cries out 'I must fight you, Yuri Lowell, my blade hungers for your blood,'" chimed in Rita snidely, smirking

That round of good humor died away when we came across an aer krene half way in the drift. Through the howling wind we made out a phosphorescent glow emanating from the aer krene's crystals, a triad of them clustered together, at least ten feet tall looming up above. Its luminescent structure lit up suddenly in green and yellow prismatic colors, flooding the ground with heat. The green and yellow light reflected off the snow, blinding us with its glare.

"What the hell's going on?" cried Yuri, squinting from the light.

An aqua colored mist eddied on the ground, forming an equally brilliant light, dancing up in orbs, choking us with in a noxious cloud of air like poison down our throats, burning our very lungs. Our entire world became enveloped in dense aer and swirling light, trapping everyone inside, except me. I was just far away enough from the vicinity to hold my ground standing.

A low growl rumbled from Repede's throat, as he arched back in fear. His keen canine smell detected a scent beyond human smell. A splash broke the freezing waters just below the iceberg we huddled on, everyone immobilized except for me. An aquatic slithering form whirled up from the broken surface, spinning in midair! How it managed to suspend itself out of the water was itself a miracle of nature. Its eyes the color of blood burned with mounting hunger. It opened its stingray like mouth, revealing row upon row of razor sharp teeth. It gnashed its fangs violently, activating the aer krene's full devastating power.

Everyone sank to their knees paralyzed. Yuri moaned in pain, spilling from his throat a pain racked cry.

"Yuri!" I shouted, lunging in to pull him out. I tumbled back down a snowy bank when the force of the aer krene blasted me away.

Even in the face of death, in a situation like this, his piercing black eyes burned with the same resolve as Don Whitehorse's. I realized now to have that insurmountable courage in death's jaws was a warrior's true spirit. That was the heart of the Don, who became like my dearest father, closer than flesh or blood could bind us. To have someone like that who becomes a very part of your soul ripped away, your true parent, is a pain beyond words. I lost the Don once before. I couldn't loose him again in Yuri who became that father I lost, the brother I always wanted.

_Karol, don't give up. I believe you, because without you, there's no Brave Vesperia. As its leader, you must be that example we aspire to, so don't give up? Okay? If Estelle saw you give up before we could save her, she'd cry_, Yuri said back at Nor Harbor, after Estelle's power knocked us out of the sky.

I never had the chance to tell the Don how much he meant, that I loved him so much. If Yuri were to die now, I'd live the rest of my life with regret, even into my last hour of life. I couldn't live knowing I'd loose another father, before I could tell him how much he really meant.

Yuri's eyes narrowed, his glare shooting up to meet the monster face to face.

"…A monster that uses an aer krene to trap its pray?" Judith rasped, writhing in pain.

It loomed over grinning malevolently with a lust not of this world, as its pulsating body descended down only feet above my friends.

"Karol! Run!" came Yuri's strained cry, uttered with all his strength carried on the wind, a chill to my burning exposed ears.

I froze, petrified in disbelief, holding my ground on the snow bank. "No way! You guys will all get eaten up!" I shrieked back, pawing my way up the snow packed slope, prepared to give my very life to save them.

"This isn't something you can beat on your own!" Yuri howled back, wincing in pain as he rose, his body thrashed by the aer krene's gushing power.

The bitter whipping wind, a gust from hell itself, screamed past by ears drowning Yuri's cry. A nippy blast threatened to knock me over, assailing my helpless lungs. I swore I'd die from frostbite before I even got there.

"But!" I wailed, seized with utter fear. "AAGGHHH!" a scream ripped from my very throat, the moment I spied the monster sailing swiftly towards me with speed.

Its undulating body uncoiled, head thrust out with jaws wide open to snatch me. A shriek like Cerebus guarding the gate to hell split the air from its howl, sending its hot breath out nearly blowing me over like hot scalding wind. I smelled on its putrid breath the scent of blood from recently managed prey, some hapless beast before us. I caught a glimpse of a hind limb of it still in its jaw, crushed as its teeth gnashed down, raining down a bloody mist from its mouth.

Choked by the smell of blood, I hurled myself down, only to feel the bottom of its slippery belly graze hairs on my head. Missing me it circled around, diving at Yuri with amazing predatory speed. The hunger building inside propelled its body forward, snapping its fin like wings wide open, unleashing a scream at Yuri. Diving down it slammed the ground, with Yuri just pulling poor Judith out of harms way. Repede whimpered and for the first time a truly horrific look crossed Raven's awestruck face.

"I'm really gonna die!" he wept, rooted to his spot.

"Not if I can help it," I yelled, raising my axe in triumph as if I'd won the battle. "I gotta do this, I gotta do it now…" My cry shook the air, seeming to blow away the snow blasting at me, by the sheer will of my strength. Even the whipping wind was silenced a single moment when my thunderous cry rolled out.

_Don_, I thought, glancing up momentarily towards the heavens obscured in the hailing storm, _Watch me, will ya? Lend me your power so that everyone, especially Yuri, will keep on living if I die. I don't want you to think I'll continue to live as that coward you saw when you left this world behind._

With that prayer I lost all reason rising above the fear. Cowardice that held me back died the moment I charged forward, hollering, waving my axe in hand at the beast.

"Karol!" roared Yuri, still trapped by the aer krene's mounting power.

"Now or never!" I cried, launching myself at the beast.

It descended like death when I landed right in front, letting loose another guttural ear splitting cry, "YAAAHHH," this time with my soul screaming from inside me.

At the sound of my battle spirit bursting forth, fear lit Yuri's eyes, clouded moments with dread. I engaged the looming monstrosity with Yuri's gaze trained on my every move. Shackled to his spot by the aer rushing out, he thrust out a hand at me, desperately clutching the air. _No, Karol! Don't die, I already lost Estelle_, he thought.

_Yuri, you gave me so much hope, love when no one else did, you believed in me and that's why I gotta give this everything I got, so please don't be sad_, I reflected inwardly, charging at the monster, when one knock of its head sent me flying right back, slamming into a snow bank. "Dammit!" I cried.

Its malevolent shadow anticipated my every move, falling right over the snow in blues before I could even budge. Suddenly, an inner wellspring of fear deeper, more horrific than any nightmare ever imagined, coursed through my being as I gazed down into its bottomless throat, the pit to hell my death. I imagined the animal whose mangled limb moments ago in the monster's mouth, was crushed in a bloody mist ripped apart down its throat. I was really going to die! I saw my life flash before my very eyes: my failure as a member of the Hunting Blading, Nan breaking my heart cause she thought I was utterly useless. But in that last second a joy broke through those sorrows: Yuri, forming Brave Vesperia, my friends I grew to love, the Don a living tower of strength.

_What did I tell you, Karol_, a disembodied voice echoed through my conscious, snapping me from my reverie when the monster almost took my head.

No, it wasn't a person but a presence I felt with my very soul. It knocked the beast back with incredible power beyond any mere human's even in death. But the heavenly realms called to him, even if he believed he might take birth in one of the lower worlds. A man that brave must have been given a second chance to come back and tell me something, before he crossed over from the living for good.

_Hang in there, kid. Yer a boss now, right?_ Don Whitehorse's words just before the scene of his 'suicide' back at Dahgrenest raced through my mind.

Could it be I heard those words in the present from a place beyond this world? I felt a cool air over my shoulder, entirely different from the biting cold of the Drifts, a force beyond this world, alive yet not there physically. It was a hand a feeling on my shoulder. An incredible feeling of warmth spread through my body from the point it barely touched.

"But it's like there's nothing I can do on my own," I cried back, shaking my head in sorrow. Those were the same words I repeated at the scene of the Don's passing, adding in the present, "You know Don, its true, that I'll never be strong like you, or Yuri even if I tried."

_So then ask fer help. That's what friends are for, right? Its why I'm here, I couldn't cross till I knew ya'd be okay_, the Don's spirit echoed through my thoughts, with him smiling in my mind's eye, a proud and ancient warrior. _You can do it, just believe in yourself, kid._

"I promise. I'll try. No, I will!" I bellowed, full of resolve.

The stingray like creature took a few more spins, trying to knock me off balance, diving into the snow, surfacing nearly below my feet. But with one high jump a good ten feet in the air, I dived down ripping my axe through its spine. Yet it loomed unscathed, wearing a malignant grin. I realized a flash of gray from its fins parrying the blow shielded its vital organs, leaving only the end of its fin slightly cut.

Dread shocked me senseless. I couldn't believe it. Not after everything the Don had done. I was the last line of defense for my friends still trapped in the aer krene. "I…I've got to protect them. No more running!" I huffed, struggling to catch my breath, still paralyzed with fear rooted to my spot, my axe trembling in my hands, my grip wavering, nearly faltering. And then my weapon dropped. _Swoosh_, crunching the snow beneath.

I clutched my hand over my heart, grabbing it as if it would explode. My shoulders slumped, my entire fame hunched over, legs shaking barely holding me up just about to buckle.

"Karol, stop this. It's crazy!" shuddered Judith's voice on the wind, from below at the bottom of the slope, where the aer krene still held everyone in its power.

"I can't watch this." A low tone of dread filled Yuri's voice, brimming with agony when he roared, "I told you go to get out of here!" his very face the image of rage itself, dread churning in its depths at the thought of loosing me, the little brother he nurtured with his love.

I never saw Yuri in this great state of pain, deeper than when he reached out for Estelle trapped in Alexei's before, leaping from the ship. He knew Estelle might live, but if I died that was the end of my existence.

_Yuri, I'm sorry, I hurt you, but in wanting to be strong like you, I'm afraid its made me stubborn_, I wept inwardly, grieved at his pain. _You can do it, just believe in yourself kid_, the Don had said.

In my final moments fear gave way to courage, when I dashed forward seizing one of the old blades impaled here ages ago on the very top of the slope, passing out the moment I grabbed it in sheer exhaustion, smiling to myself as my eyes fluttered shut the very last time, and I took my last breath of life. I made out somewhere from the recesses of my conscious, the trampling of snow up the slope. My last act distracting the monster must have weakened its control over the aer krene setting my friends free, like a caged bird whose door is opened, when it soars up high to the very heavens.

It must have been me that soared, not that bird in thought nor my friends rushing up. I saw the smiling form of the Don floating beside me up in the air above. I drifted up to his side finding myself in a realm without gravity, propelled by my very thoughts.

_Am I…dead?_ I asked him.

His smile saddened. He shook his head. _Far from, kid. Ya went into a bit of shock, knockin' the spirit outta your body, but you'll be back. Don't worry. Remember what I said friends are for? They'll beat that bugger, ya bet. _

With a radiant smile etched in my memory forever, the Don bade me farewell shooting up to the sky in a brilliant stream of light to the heavens. _Goodbye, Karol._ I hadn't realized in the space between life and time, when time didn't exist, in fact Yuri and everyone already disposed of the monster, with Yuri cradling my lifeless body below.

"Karol! Come back to us," cried Yuri, hugging me to his chest.

I felt my conscious dragged back down into my body, suddenly finding the weightlessness of my previous dream like state now gone. My eyes opened slowly. I coughed. "…Yuri?"

"We almost lost you," added Rita, holding back fear in her voice.

"Yeah, ya had old Raven worried, darlin'," Raven chimed in, amidst everyone gathered around me.

"I'm sorry, guys. The Don, he helped me…" I managed to add, before feeling my eyes close again. "I thought he was there and I remembered the Don's words, 'Take good care of your friends and they'll be there for you when you need them.' You were always there for me, so I wanted to be there for…you." A tired smile crossed my face, when I felt the weariness of my body drag me down in its weight. I passed out at that point again from sheer exhaustion, glad the friends I loved like my family were safe, especially Yuri. He did so much for me back at Dahgrenest, this was the least I could do in return.

Yuri carried me on his back until we reached Halure later that day. He stopped by the Inn there placing me on a bed in a room reserved in the back. He went out that evening to gather information about what happened in the Capital after we stopped the Hercules. But he always had Repede, Rita, Judith or Raven by my side to watch over me. Up until this point Yuri had taken everything on his own shoulders. As the leader of Brave Vesperia, I should of borne some of that too. After everyone else had stayed by my side, late that evening Yuri stopped by the Inn, resting on the bed next to where I laid.

"You awake, Karol?" he asked me, when he noticed me stirring finally.

My eyes slowly slid open. "Yuri, where are we?" I mumbled, glancing at him through half opened eyes.

"Halure," he replied, sitting up. "It seems the nobles from the upper quarter made it here safe, evacuated, but there's no sign of anyone from the lower quarters." Anger crept in his voice, though his expression remained calm. He lowered his visage, dark with wonder. "It's always been that way. That's why I quit the Knights. Can the Imperial Knights honestly call themselves defenders of the people, when the nobles are the only ones they save?" He glanced up, searching me deeply.

"I'm sure there's survivors," I replied, trying to brighten his mood, my eyes opening fully, as I rose to sit up. "As Brave Vesperia, we'll look for them, and save Estelle too!"

"That's right, Captain Karol, when Brave Vesperia does something, we do it right," Yuri agreed, standing up, raising a hand to my shoulder, warmth brightening his expression. "It seems you understand now everything the Don tried to tell you. 'Take care of your friends and they'll be there for you.' You risked your life Karol. You saved us. If it weren't for you, I don't think any of us would be here, and neither would Brave Vesperia."

"Well, back at Dahgrenst after we lost the Don, I almost gave up then too," I answered, smiling at Yuri, with my hand up around his, that rested on my shoulder. "You said Brave Vesperia would go on, even if I didn't. I thought about what you said, Yuri. Brave Vesperia has become not just me, or you, but Repede, Judith, Rita, Raven and Estelle."

Yuri's lips widened to a smile. He turned away, pacing up and down the room and then stopping by my bed, fixing his eyes on me. "You've grown, Karol. I'm proud of you. I bet somewhere out there, Whitehorse is watching, proud of you too." He glanced up a moment out of the window, into the night sky, alluding to some heaven above.

"I thought that back in the Drifts, when I faced that monster, maybe he was there. I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination," I hesitated, looking down.

"As long as you remember the Don's resolve, he'll live on inside you, just as he does inside me," Yuri went on, taking in the scene of Halure's blossoms falling outside, blown by a gentle wind. "And everyone who knew him. His resolve became yours, when you stood up against that monster, Karol, at the risk of your own life. Do you still believe you're not strong enough, like you were after his loss?"

"I thought being strong was just about winning when you fight monsters. That's what the Hunting Blades believed," I answered, shaking my head 'no' at his question. I joined Yuri by the window, admiring the blossoms falling outside, and the starry sky beyond. "I wasn't physically strong like Nan. That's why they kicked me out. But traveling with you, Yuri, I got the idea of starting our own guild, and that's when things changed. I know now, being strong is about never giving up, even when hard times come."

"I'm glad you've grown to believe in yourself." Yuri gazed down at me with a smile, turning to face me by the window. "I'll be back. I'm gonna head outside and see how everyone's doing."

"Alright," I replied, returning his smile.

Gazing outside at the star studded sky, and then down over Halure, I thought I felt warmth behind me creeping over my shoulder. Turning around, I didn't see anyone there, just like that time back in the Blade Drifts of Zophier, when the Don watched over me, but I sensed him smiling somewhere from a place I couldn't see him.

Then I heard him say a whisper in my heart, _Kid, I'm proud of ya._

And with those words, my heart danced with joy. I felt I truly become the leader of Brave Vesperia.

**Owari**


End file.
